The Prodeco Group provides $100 million as seed capital for entrepreneurship projects

Individual and associative entrepreneurship initiatives of La Jagua de Ibirico, and Becerril, in the Department of Cesar, received the seed capital to develop their business plans. The provision of resources is part of the activities of the C-Emprende project, implemented in 2015 as part of a public-private partnership between the Prodeco Group, the municipal mayor’s office of both municipalities and the Valledupar Chamber of Commerce.

Ricardo Corrales, director of C-Emprende; Juan Francisco Rojas, mayor of Becerril; Claudia Machado, first lady of the municipality; Jairo Vergara, head of Sustainability; and María Isabel Campo, Coordinator of the Prodeco Group’s Corporate Sustainability Affairs, met in an event in the auditorium of Colegio Trujillo primary school in Becerril on September 6 to award the seed capital to the 14 projects of this municipality. The ceremony was held in La Jagua de Ibirico in the afternoon, at the auditorium of the Virtual Center, where 10 more projects received resources.

Projects of clothing, restaurants, beauty and aesthetics, miscellaneous and photography services are some of the business ideas of the beneficiaries. C-Emprende is a Regional Center for Employment and Entrepreneurship where trained personnel respond to the requests of the inhabitants of La Jagua de Ibirico, El Paso and Becerril, in Cesar, in order to find jobs, generate a productive project or receive technical training. The objective is that the vulnerable population of the mining area can generate income, either by employment or entrepreneurship.

The Center is a benchmark for mining companies and contractors seeking local workforce and services. The Prodeco Group and its partners propose and manage this mechanism previously implemented in the country, which has been promoted by the National Government through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), being the C-Emprende of Cartagena, the most successful case.

Last year in Cesar, C-EMPRENDE supported more than 5,300 community members, trained 2,000 people, helped 448 people to find formal employment and supported the development of 259 business plans. In 2016, the Prodeco Group reached a cooperation agreement with the Mayor of Cienaga and the Santa Marta Chamber of Commerce for the start-up of C-Emprende in the municipality of Cienaga, Magdalena. To date over 300 people have already been trained to develop entrepreneurship projects.